026. Cold Cake

In late July, it was so hot in the capital of Jin that the ground was scalding at noon. The court prepared cold food for officials to cool down. The dishes were no different from those at palace banquets. They were delicious but tasteless.

When it comes to cooking, it's no use bragging.

All of you chefs here are garbage.

Rong Se looked down on it, and the night before yesterday he mixed half a jar of glutinous rice and rhubarb with rice wine and milk. After court, he asked the servants in the mansion to wash the glutinous rice and rhubarb clean, put the rice in the steamer and steamed several pumpkins at the same time.

The Regent rolled up his sleeves and was busy in the kitchen.

Yun Chu's eyes dimmed as he watched, but he said nothing. He lowered his head and stepped forward to help, and asked, "My Lord, why are you steaming so much rice?"

"Make cold cakes." Rong Se said briefly, and suddenly said, "Hey, the pot of glutinous rice is almost ready."

The steaming glutinous rice came out of the pot. Rong Se added sugar and chopped preserved fruits, and decisively handed it to Yun Chu: "Mix evenly, spread it on the plate over there, brush it with oil, and flatten it with your hands."

Yun Chu responded with a smile and started mixing the rice diligently.

Rong Se mixed the steamed yellow rice and pumpkin together, and while doing so he instructed the cook and the servants: "See? Do it this way, keep going, keep steaming all those pots."

The hot air was mixed with the aroma of milk and rice. The wine had already evaporated. After the glutinous rice, preserved fruit, and yellow rice and pumpkin were half-evenly mixed, the glutinous rice was placed on the bottom layer and the yellow rice on the top layer. Rong Se came closer and sniffed, then nodded with satisfaction: "Go, put it in the ice room."

The stove room was bustling with activity. Rongse was busy for a while before he finally sent all the rice cakes into the ice room.

The chef Liu Bo wondered, "Prince, why do you steam so much?"

Rong Se held a palm-leaf fan in his hand, fanning himself with it, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief in one hand, and said with a smile, "Everyone can try it later."

It is easy to eat exquisite food and delicious food, but to make it delicious and exquisite, you need to put in some effort.

Rongse really worked hard in this area.

"Your Highness, you have worked hard." Yun Chu also fanned him with a fan, "It's just that much, and we can't eat much in our house."

Rong Se was silent for a moment, a little hesitant, afraid of ruining his character, so he hesitated for a long while before pretending to be reserved and awkward: "It's hot, you can take some to the imperial guards on duty and Yun Zhi, this is a reward from the king."

Yun Chu was stunned. His expression was always much more lively than his brother's, but at this moment he was blank for a moment and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

Rong Se was feeling uneasy.

If these subordinates knew that the original owner who was good at political struggle had become his cook, I wonder if they would be extremely disappointed and turn to another wise master.

But what surprised him was that Yun Chu said nothing after coming back to his senses, but just nodded as usual.

At noon, the cool and sweet jelly cakes were taken out of the ice room. Food boxes were filled with ice and small pieces of jelly cake were placed on top and were sent out of the Regent's Palace.

Rong Se was holding a plate of cold cakes and eating them slowly under the grape trellis. He thought for a moment and then ordered, "There are still a lot of cold cakes left, right?"

Yun Chu nodded: "Yes, there are quite a few."

Rong Se lowered his eyes and said, "Send it to the Jinbei Cavalry Camp outside the city and give it to Dingbei Marquis."

In the past two days, he mentioned every day that Rong Jing should get married and have a queen, which made this cheap nephew so angry that his face looked very bad. Liang Shenyu, his helper, did not have any intention of helping out, and did not even have the intention of being jealous. He even watched the show from the sidelines and was very interested. It can be said that he performed well.

Give him a box as a reward too, Rongse thought generously.

Yun Chu didn't want to comment, but thinking of the reputation of Marquis Dingbei and their several encounters, he concluded that Liang Shenyu was an unfathomable person.

"Your Highness," Yun Chu said thoughtfully, "Marquis Dingbei is the current emperor's companion, and has always been regarded as a member of the Cao family. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to have too close a relationship with him."

Rong Se raised his eyebrows: "What's this?"

When Yun Chu was still hesitating, his master said as a matter of course: "I am happy to play with Liang Shenyu. If my cheap nephew knew that he was playing with me, would he be angry?"

Yun Chu was silent.

Rong Se became more and more proud, "Who cares what Liang Shenyu thinks? It's enough for outsiders to think that he and I are friends."

I can’t stop mad at that dog emperor!

Besides, as long as Liang Shenyu had any connection with the Regent Palace, Cao Lun would definitely suspect him.

Yun Chu realized it and stood in awe, "I understand."

Therefore, the people who delivered the cold cakes to the patrolling and guarding imperial guards were from the Regent's Palace, while the people who delivered them to the Jinbei Iron Cavalry Camp were Manager Yun. They were extremely high-profile and wanted everyone to know about it.

The sun was blazing brightly in the sky, with few shadows to hide in. The guards on duty stood in the sun, enduring it when they suddenly heard a voice: "The Regent has brought some cool food to you all—"

When the food box permeated with cold air was opened, pieces of golden yellow and beige cakes with fine layers were placed inside. The thick layer of ice underneath had melted a lot. Ice was a rare commodity in this summer. Even if you had money, you couldn't buy it. Only the powerful and wealthy could afford it, not to mention that so much of it was spent at once, especially for these minions whose names were probably unknown to anyone.

The imperial guards looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of the upright ones had tears in their eyes and knelt down to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, Lord!"

Yun Zhi held his own plate, had no intention of stopping it, and even smiled faintly.

Someone whispered beside him: "Governor, this..."

"Let them be." Yun Zhi pinched a piece of cold cake and said nonchalantly: "Where did the military pay of the imperial guards come from these years? You and I know it clearly. The prince supports the imperial guards, and we brothers cannot eat from the inside out. If anyone dares to have a different idea--"

Yun Zhi glanced at him with deep eyes.

The man who opened his mouth immediately started sweating from his forehead and he dared not say another word.

While people here were deeply moved, the people in the Jinbei Army camp were terrified.

In the military tent, Song Yan and a young general in military uniform with a scar on his face looked at each other in bewilderment. The young general had a handsome face, but there was a scar on the left corner of his forehead from the bridge of his nose. His eyes were light brown, like light colored glaze, and his long hair was braided into several whips and tied behind his head. His eyebrows and eyes also looked a bit alien.

The two men looked at the two food boxes on the table, one with a serious expression and the other with a calm expression.

After a while, Song Yan said solemnly, "Wu Jie, what do you think the Regent King means by this? He is not here to poison the Marquis openly, right?"

Wu Jie frowned slightly, "Not really."

Song Yan pulled his sleeve and said hesitantly, "It's quite cool. How about I try some poison for you?"

Wu Jie was silent for a moment, then he took out a small bag from his sleeve, took out a pine nut candy from it, stuffed it into Song Yan's mouth, and said simply: "Don't commit suicide."

Then, in front of him, he took the bag of candy back.

Song Yan reluctantly withdrew his gaze and sighed, "You don't want to eat it, why don't you give it to me..."

Wu Jie sneered: "You're crying just because someone has rotten teeth. How dare you say that?"

Song Yan shut up.

There is a one-year age difference between them. Wu Jie had been in the Jinbei Army since he was ten years old. He rose from a fireman to a deputy general. He was a taciturn person, but his words were always sharp.

Can't say anything about him.

Can't beat it either.

Song Yan was silent.